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How much retouching do you do, or have done?

Actors, do you have to have every wrinkle removed and sparkling white teeth?

Photographers: if you do the retouching, do you listen when your clients want to be flawless and enhanced/straightened/lightened/whitened? Or do you draw the line when they ask for a new face?

I'm on my headshot photographer's website. My eyes were made symmetrical and the bags under my eyes completely eliminated. I thought it weird looking, but the photographer has free reign over the website. What I had printed was retouched to my specifications: minimal retouching, keep the wrinkles and bags, but just lighten them.

On another headshot photographer's website, the shape of my nose was changed. You just can't do that to an Asian.

And how much disparity is there between the headshots and what enters the casting room? Miss Stone, I expect a full report.

Well, obviously you want to look like the real you, but you also want to look like the best version of yourself. If you look like Ayumi Hamasaki on the headshot, but come out looking like Ohta Hiromi, then obviously there's going to be an issue. Retouching slight details such as fine wrinkles, little moles, yellow teeth, reddish eyes, a pimple, shouldn't be such a huge deal. If your changing the shape of the nose, then the casting director going to expect this nose. Meryl Streep, I bet, doesn't change her nose on her headshots.

I also believe if you have deep wrinkles, do not remove the wrinkle, unless your planning for a face lift or botox. He wants a 20-30 year old person, not a 40-60 year old person.

I just think you have to look like the best version of you. You don't want to look your worse either, so a little retouching won't hurt either.

Retouching, like everything else in photography, is a highly subjective art.

If you do too much, you've created an image impossible for the actor to live up to. Not enough, and the picture will suffer.

As the photographer, I am responsible for making the final call. But I always take the actor's personal needs and requirements into consideration when making such decisions. It's always a two-way street.

quote:

Well, obviously you want to look like the real you

That's not obvious. Some people want to look perfect. Some people have no clue, or are in denial.

P.s. I'm not familiar with the names you dropped. I type this pre-Google.

quote:

Originally posted by transfergirl:

quote:

Well, obviously you want to look like the real you

That's not obvious. Some people want to look perfect. Some people have no clue, or are in denial.

P.s. I'm not familiar with the names you dropped. I type this pre-Google.

Then they need to go to a psychiatrist to deal with their issues. This isn't modeling, where you want to look perfect, this is finding the right role based on the best-version of yourself. Perhaps a psychiatrist can help them realize the reality of their looks, rather then be in denial about weighing 115 pounds and 5'10, with long beautiful hair and a face of an eighteen year old. When they walk into the office and looking fifty years old with scraggly hair with bad glued in extensions, and poorly done make up, where every wrinkle is showing and yellow teeth, and veins popping out.

AYUMI


Ohta Hiromi

People that have their wrinkles removed are not just doing themselves a great disservice- they are WASTING EVERYONE'S TIME. It is your job as an actor to walk through that door looking exactly like your headshot- not like you ten years ago. If you look fifty, use a headshot where you LOOK YOUR AGE!!!! Teeth whitening is fine. Your teeth should be white anyway unless you want to play street people all the time. Smoothing stray hairs, removing blemishes, blurring the background etc is all fine. Retouching should enhance you, not erase you.

i totally agree w/ miss stone. it has to look like the real you. period. once you get on camera and the cd's see the real you in the audition, they'll be very ticked off if you are retouched.
if a photographer is enhancing you for their website, that's their call...false advertisement, but still their call. if it bothers you that much, perhaps you can talk to the photographer about removing your headshot from the website.

Here's a wake up call.

EVERYBODY RETOUCHES.

Don't believe me?

Start by checking out every professional photographers' website on earth.

Then, carefully examine every, single advertisement on every, single billboard and magazine in existence.

After that, watch an episode of "Sex And The City." Think Sarah Jessica looks that good in real life? If it weren't for digital post, she wouldn't have a career. Do you know how much makeup soap stars wear? They don't apply it with a sponge, they apply it with a shovel.

People enjoy using catch phrases like, "the real you." What if 'the real you' wakes up with an enormous zit on your nose the day of your photo session? Or your favorite Harley Davidson tat is showing? Or you've got a big roll of fat hanging out of your pants? That's as "real" as it gets. 'Real' enough to lose you a top paying job. The "bottom line" in retouching is this: If you don't use it, your competition will.

Another reality check. I've already spoken about good retouching and bad retouching. A good example of over-retouching are the Japanese model photos, above. But as I've said in previous posts, there are headshots for acting and headshots for fashion and editorial work. Don't ever confuse the two. It's patently obvious that these two represent the latter.

Anyone who dismisses retouching out-of-hand simply doesn't understand the nature and reality of this business.

the sarah jessica parkers already have the job, as do the soap stars...

How do think these stars GOT the job?

^^ I have to nip this at the bud, the two Japanese images represent that Ayumi cannot pass as Ohta. In reality Ayumi is that beautiful in real life. There's hardly any drastic retouching in her image, perhaps a little, but nothing that's obvious.

Here's an image of her walking around, and on youtube you can see the live concerts. Her skin is flawless, even without make up. She is also 30 years old, but this was shot during her "Secret" days, so that means she's 28 or early 29 below.

Do you call your previous examples, "acting headshots"?

They look more like cover girl ads for Shiseido.

This is an actor's message board.

^^ No they are not headshots, I never said that they were. If you read the comment, you would had realize that I meant that if you look like Ayumi in a headshot, but in reality come into the office looking like Ohta Hiromi (who is like 60 years old) then you will not get cast because the director wants a young looking person. You find Ohta attractive and youthful?

They do not need to be "acting headshots" either because it gets the point across, that you have to look like your real self.

quote:

Originally posted by Robert Kim Photography:
Here's a wake up call.

EVERYBODY RETOUCHES.

Don't believe me?

Start by checking out every professional photographers' website on earth.

After that, watch an episode of "Sex And The City." Think Sarah Jessica looks that good in real life? If it weren't for digital post, she wouldn't have a career.

Yeah, she did an opening introduction for an NYC Ballet video, and I was like Dayyy-um!!! She DEFINITELY has people making her look good. I guess NYCB didn't have the same budget as SATC.

I can see how you can airbrush the heck out of still shots, but the fact that you can do that to moving talking images really trips me out. Maybe one day I'll do some research on digital editing and figure it out a little.

It's called After Effects and works just like layers in Photoshop for video.